While in Lima, Goshen College students benefitted from Spanish language instruction four days a week, extensive reading assignments and lectures on such topics as history, politics, health care, social issues, the environment, music and art. Students heard from 16 guest lecturers and workshop presenters. Most lecturers were Peruvians along with…
A thunderstorm seemed likely to occur the day we awakened to visit Machu Picchu, the most famous settlement of the Inca civilization. Clouds and mist hovered practically at ground level and temperatures stayed low. We worried that rain might envelop the world-famous site, obscuring views and making stone trails too…
The Peru SST group spent two days exploring Peru’s Sacred Valley with help from Oswaldo Palomino Alvarado, an experienced guide proud of his indigenous heritage. Oswaldo Palomino provides an overview to students at Chinchero. We began our tour at Chinchero, where Inca royalty once sat on stone…
The Peru SST group spent a stormy day exploring the Cusco area with the help of our guide, Abrahan Quispe Corrales. Students listen to Abrahan Quispe Corrales, our Cusco guide. Cusco was the center of the Inca empire when the Spaniards arrived in 1526; in fact the…
During their journey to Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, Goshen College students viewed soaring mountain peaks, lush valleys, magnificent rock formations and surging rivers. They learned about the Spanish conquest of the Inca, the importance of arts and culture and contemporary issues facing Peru. One typically busy day,…
After reading about the Incas and the arrival of the Spaniards in Peru in 1526, the Goshen students had the exciting opportunity to travel to the Inca’s ancient capital of Q’osqo (the navel of the world), or Cusco, as it is known today. Cusco is situated in the Andes at…
The Peru SST unit jumped, wiggled, twisted and sweated their way through a spirited workshop on traditional dances of Peru. Their instructors were Pedro Farias and his partner, Lisette Alcántara, enthusiastic and talented dancers who have performed with many professional groups. The women learn a new dance.
Goshen College students spent a day exploring the Sacred City of Caral-Supe, which is considered one of the earliest civilizations of the world and the oldest in the Americas. In 2001, radiocarbon dating confirmed that urban life, complex agriculture and monumental architecture flourished in Caral 5,000 years ago – 2,000…
Students continued their journey through Peru’s past with a visit to Huaca Pucllana, an administrative and religious center of the ancient Lima Culture, which dominated coastal Peru from 200 to 700 A.D. The site, located in the city’s Miraflores district, includes a large reconstructed pyramid of clay and adobe bricks,…
Our visit to the squatter community in the Puente Piedra district on Jan. 17 was quite an eye-opening experience. (Neal) Although we went to that community to help those people through work, I feel like I got more out of the experience than they did. (Caleb) After the…
